ABAP FAQ'S ON SD MM FI/CO:
CORPORATE STRUCTURE
In R/3 you can represent a company's structure by defining and assigning corporate structure elements. What is the purpose of doing that?
Enterprise organization diagram. Chart showing the organizational structure of an enterprise, its organization units and how they are related. A combined structure can be created from the point of view of accounting, MM, SD. This structure forms a framework in which all business transactions can be processed.
Which three organizational elements make up a sales area and briefly explain their function?
Sales organization: An organizational unit that sells and distributes products, negotiates terms of sale, and is responsible for these transactions.
Distribution channel: Channel through which salable materials or services reach customers. Typical distribution channels include wholesale, retail and direct sales. You can assign a distribution channel to one or more sales organizations.
Division: Product groups can be defined for a wide-ranging spectrum of products. For every division you can make customer-specific agreements on, for example, partial deliveries, pricing and terms of payment. Within a division you can carry out statistical analyses or set up separate marketing.
Name the three internal organizational elements within a sales organization and briefly explain their function.
Sales Office. Geographical aspects of the organization in business development and sales are defined using the term sales office. A sales office can be considered as a subsidiary.
Sales offices are assigned to sales areas. If you enter a sales order for a sales office within a certain sales area, the sales office must be assigned to that area.
Sales Group. The staff of a sales office may be subdivided into sales groups. For example, sales groups can be defined for individual divisions.
Salespersons. Individual personnel master records are used to manage data about salespersons. You can assign a sales person to a sales group in the personnel master record.
What does the term "business area" refer to and how can it be used?
Business Area. The system posts costs and revenue according to the business area. The business area can be equivalent to the:
sales area (if the accounts are to be posted according to sales)
plant/division (if the accounts are to be posted according to products)
The business area is defined in Customizing for Sales.
Business area. A unit in an enterprise, grouping product and market combinations as homogeneously as possible for the purpose of developing unified business policy.
Financial Accounting (FI). A business area is an organizational unit within financial accounting which represents a separate area of operations or responsibilities within an organization.
Financial accounting transactions can be allocated to a specific business area.
Briefly explain the relationship between sales organizations and company codes.
Many to One.
What is the central organizational element in purchasing?
Purchasing Organization.
Explain the relationship between sales organizations and plants.
Many to Many.
Explain the relationship between sales organizations, plants and company codes.
Many to Many to One.
Can one business area be assigned to several company codes? Which (sub) module of SAP could make business areas obsolete?
Yes in CO .
What is a credit control area? What relationship exists between credit control areas and company codes?
Credit control area. Organizational unit in an organization that specifies and checks credit limits for customers. A credit control area can include one or more company codes. It is not possible to assign a company code to more than one credit control areas.
Which organizational element is central in shipping? Give a definition of it.
Shipping Point: Organizational unit at a fixed location that carries out shipping activities. A shipping point could, for example, be a company's mail department or a plant's rail depot. Each delivery is processed by only one shipping point.
Give a definition of plant (in SAP) ?
Organizational unit within Logistics, serving to subdivide an enterprise according to production, procurement, maintenance, and materials planning aspects.
A plant is a place where either materials are produced or goods and services provided.
Classification: Business object
Structure: A plant can assume a variety of roles:
As a maintenance plant, it includes the maintenance objects that are spatially located within this plant. The maintenance tasks that are to be performed are specified within a maintenance planning plant.
As a retail or wholesale site, it makes merchandise available for distribution and sale.
As a rule, the plant is the organizational unit for material valuation.
The preferred shipping point for a plant is defined as the default shipping point, which depends on the shipping condition and the loading condition.
For the placement of materials in storage (stock put-away), a storage location is assigned to a plant. The storage location depends on the storage condition and the stock placement situation.
The business area that is responsible for a valuation area is determined as a function of the division. As a rule, a valuation area corresponds to a plant.
Can you assign two different sales organization to the same company code?
Yes.
To what do you assign distribution channels and divisions?
Sales Organizations.
What are the highest organizational units in SD, MM.PP,FI,CO?
SD: Sales Organizations.
M: Plant
PP: Plant
FI: Company Code
CO: Controlling Area
Can you further subdivide a plant? If yes into what ?
A plant can be subdivided into storage locations, allowing stocks of materials to be broken down according to predefined criteria (e.g., location and materials planning aspects).
A plant can be subdivided into locations and operational areas. Subdivision into locations takes geographical criteria into account, whereas subdivision into operational areas reflects responsibilities for production.
Can a sales organization sell from a plant belonging to a different company code?
Yes.
How many shipping points can you assign to a plant?
Many.
How many shipping points can you assign to a sales organization?
None.
If you have a warehouse management system active, to what would you assign the warehouse number?
Plant & Storage Location.
MASTER DATA
Why does the customer master have different views?
In addition to the sales and distribution data, the accounting data is also important for a payer. Therefore one can create a customer master record centrally for the following partner functions:
For the payer
For the sold-to party who, in addition to the other partner functions, also takes on the function of the payer.
Which different partner functions can a customer master record serve?
Customer:
sold-to party
ship-to party
payer
bill-to party
One-time customer including all partner functions.
What is the structure of data in the customer master record?
Different data is maintained in each of the three areas:
General data, like address and telephone number, etc., is maintained for every customer. This data is only identified by the customer number, not by company code or sales area. Maintaining the data is possible from both the accounting view and the sales and distribution view.
Company code data is only of interest for the accounting department. It includes, for example, information on insurance or account management. This data applies to only one company code.
Sales and distribution data is only of interest for the sales and distribution department. It includes, for example, data on pricing or shipping. This data only applies to one sales area, and therefore is dependent on the sales structure (sales organization, distribution channel, division).
Would you have different customer numbers if your customer was serviced by more than one company code?
No.
Would you have different customer numbers if your customer was serviced by more than one sales organization?
No.
A material is produced in plant Boston, plant Dallas and in plant Chicago. How many different material master number do you need?
Only one.
Is it possible to have different data for the same customer for different sales areas?
Yes.
Give examples of general data in the customer master record ?
Address, Control data, Marketing, Payment transactions, Contact person, Unloading points.
Give examples of general data in the material master record ?
This level contains the data applicable to all individual group companies, all plants, and all warehouses/stores belonging to an enterprise (corporate group). Examples of general data are details on a material's design (CAD drawings, for instance) and storage conditions (temperature range, whether the material is explosive or perishable, and so on).
Give examples of company -code-specific data in the customer master record?
This data is only of importance to the accounting department. It includes, for example, data on insurance and account management. Company code data only applies to one company code. If you edit the customer master record you must specify customer number and company code in order to access the screens containing company code data.
Which plant-specific data do you find in the material master record?
This level contains the data for each branch or plant location within a certain company. The data important to Purchasing is stored at this level. Examples of this data are the maximum and minimum order quantities of a material and the reorder level. You access the plant data by entering the plant key.
If a customer wishes to receive goods on Tuesdays only, how could you ensure that in the SAP R/3 system?
This can be done by specifying goods receiving hours - Time schedule of ship-to party which specifies the days and times that goods can be delivered.
Do you find any sales prices in the material master record?
Yes.
Name at least five different partner functions.
Examples of partner functions in Sales and Distribution:
sold-to party, ship-to party, bill-to party, payer.
Examples of partner functions (roles) in Materials Management:
ordering address, supplier of goods, invoicing party, different payee.
Which are the two partner functions in SD that have to be maintained in FI too ?
sold-to party, payer.
Can you assign a material to more than one division?
No.
If you want to create language specific sales texts for your material master, would you have to create a new material master record?
No.
What is a material type and which material types do you know?
Raw materials, semi-finished products, finished products, trading goods, operating supplies.
Name the four standard industry sectors in SAP for the material master. For what do you use them?
Branch of industry.
The industry sector groups together companies according to their activities (for example, plant engineering and construction, mechanical engineering, the chemical industry, and the pharmaceutical industry).
Table-driven program support is provided via the industry sector: for example, for the selection of data fields on-screen, for the sequence of the screens, and for the allocation of a material to a material type.
For what or why do you use the classification system in sales? Give examples of objects you can classify in R/3.
For e.g., Variant Pricing of configurable products. Objects can be customers, products, condition types.
Does storage-location specific data in the material master record apply for each plant?
This level contains the data specific to a storage location. Stock levels are an example of the data maintained for each storage location. You access the storage location data by entering the plant and storage location codes.
This data structure facilitates the organization of material-related information within the entire enterprise. It prevents redundant storage of material data when the same material is used in more than one plant or stored at more than one storage location.
Example: Suppose the same metal casting is stored at two different locations. The design and purchasing data for this material would be identical. However, the data on the stock levels at each location would differ.
Name at least four views of the material master record.
Accounting : Valuation and costing information. Examples: standard price, past and future price, and current valuation.
Materials planning and control: Information for material requirements planning (MRP) and consumption-based planning/inventory control. Examples: safety stock level, planned delivery time, and reorder level for a material.
Purchasing: Data provided by Purchasing for a material. Examples: purchasing group responsible for a material, over- and underdelivery tolerances, and the order unit.
Engineering: Engineering and design data on a material. Examples: CAD drawings, basic dimensions, and design specifications.
Storage: Information relating to the storage/warehousing of a material. Examples: unit of issue, storage conditions, and packaging dimensions.
Forecasting: Information for predicting material requirements. Examples: how the material is procured, forecasting period, and past consumption/usage.
Sales and distribution: Information for sales orders and pricing. Examples: sales price, minimum order quantity, and the name of the sales department responsible for a certain material.
What are the possible units of measure for a material?
A material can be stored, transported and sold in various units of measure. In the SAP R/3 System, you can therefore define various units of measure which are maintained in the sales and distribution screens. However, you only need to maintain the fields of the units of measure if they deviate from the base unit of measure. If no other fields with units of measure are maintained, the system automatically takes the base unit of measure as a basis for its calculations. You can enter the following units of measure in the sales and distribution screens:
Base unit of measure : Stocks of a material are managed in the base unit of measure. All quantity movements in other units of measure are converted automatically by the system into the base unit of measure.
Alternative unit of measure: If a product is managed in the base unit of measure "Piece" but is sold in the sales unit "Box", you must define the conversion factor. The alternative unit of measure can define, for example, that 1 box of this material contains 12 pieces.
Sales unit : The unit of measure in which materials are sold is referred to as a sales unit (for example, piece or bottle). The value you define in the material master record is proposed during business transactions relevant for sales, such as the sales order. You can replace them with other alternative units of measure in the sales order.
Delivery Unit : The delivery unit refers to the unit in which materials can be delivered. Only exact multiples of the delivery unit can be delivered. For example, with a delivery unit of 30 bottles, 30, 60 or 90 bottles can be delivered, but not 100 bottles.
Quantity Specifications: Two different quantity specifications are used:
Minimum order quantity: The minimum order quantity refers to the minimum quantity the customer must order. A warning message appears if the minimum order quantity is not reached during order entry. The order can be entered in spite of the warning message.
Minimum delivery quantity : The minimum delivery quantity refers to the minimum quantity you must deliver to the customer. The minimum delivery quantity is automatically checked during delivery processing. A warning message appears during delivery processing if you enter a delivery quantity lower than the minimum delivery quantity. The delivery can be created in spite of this warning message.
What is a Bill of material?
A bill of material is a complete, formally structured list of the components that make up a product or assembly. The list contains the object number of each component, together with the quantity and unit of measure. The components are known as BOM items. A bill of material can only refer to a quantity of at least 1 of an object.
Is the BOM used in the PP module only?
No. Also used in SD.
Explain what a routing is?
Routing contains the operations required in production, and the production resources/tools, material components, and test equipment required to produce the product.
What is a work center?
A work center is an organizational unit where a work step is carried out, producing an output. The work center defines where and by whom an operation is to be carried out. A cost center is assigned to each work center in the work center master record. The work center has a particular available capacity. The activities performed at or by the work center are valuated by charge rates, which are determined by cost centers and activity types. Work centers can be: Machines, People, Production lines, Groups of craftsmen .
IN Personnel Planning and Development (PD) work centers are the physical locations where tasks are carried out. A work center can represent anything as general as a geographic location, for example, the New York branch office. Or work centers can be very precisely defined. For example, a work center could represent a specific workstation, with specific tools and equipment, on a specific floor, of a specific building.
IN Workflow Management a work center is a particular place which has been set up specifically so that employees can perform their duties within the corporate work system using working materials.
What does the account group of the customer /vendor control?
A collection of properties of accounts which determine the creation of master records.
The account group determines the data that is relevant for the master record and a number range from which numbers are selected for the master records.
Each master record must be assigned to an account group.
Changes to the account group and the accompanying partner functions can only be made from a lower level to a higher level. For example, this means that a sold-to party cannot be assigned the function of a payer as fields which have already been maintained for this sold-to party would have to be masked. However, you can assign the sold-to party function to a payer.
The account group ensures that for the different partner functions of a customer only the necessary screens and fields are displayed for input.
What are the two possible ways of control for the cost of a material in the material master record?
Standard Price, Moving Average Price.
What is a valuation class?
Allocation of a material to a group of G/L accounts.
Along with other factors, the valuation class determines the G/L accounts to be updated as a result of a valuation-relevant transaction (for example, a goods movement).
Which valuation classes are valid depends on the material type. Several valuation classes can be valid for one material type. A valuation class can be valid for several material types.
A customer master record in SD is also an A/R(accounts receivables)in FI. When you create a customer master record you also have to specify the reconciliation account. For what is the reconciliation account used?
Account in G/L accounting, to which automatic entries are posted during a business activity. It is generally the case that several subledger accounts post to a common reconciliation account. This ensures that the developments in the subledger accounts are accurately reflected in the general ledger (i.e. in line with balance sheet conventions). You can set up a reconciliation account for, say, all overseas customers.
IV INRTRODUCTION TO ORDER MANAGEMENT & SALES
Briefly describe the types and structure of the sales document and give examples of data that you find on the different levels.
Sales-related business transactions are recorded in the system as sales documents. There are, broadly speaking, four different groupings of sales documents:
Sales queries, such as inquiries and quotations
Sales orders
Outline agreements, such as contracts and scheduling agreements
Customer problems and complaints, such as free of charge deliveries and credit memo requests.
Header Data
The general data that is valid for the entire document is recorded in the document header. This data includes the:
number of the sold-to party
number of the ship-to party and the payer
document currency and exchange rate
pricing elements for the entire document
delivery date and shipping point
Item Data
Whereas data in the document header applies to all items in the document, some data applies only to specific items. This data is stored at item level and includes the:
material number
target quantity for outline agreements
number of the ship-to party and the payer (an alternative ship-to party or payer can be defined for a particular item)
plant and storage location specifications
pricing elements for the individual items
Schedule Line Data
An item consists of one or more schedule lines. The schedule line contains all the data that is needed for a delivery. For example, a customer orders 20 pieces of a material and you enter this as an item in the sales order. However, you can only deliver 10 pieces now and the remaining 10 pieces next month. In other words, you need to schedule two deliveries. The data for these deliveries (dates, confirmed quantities) are stored in two separate schedule lines. In sales documents where delivery data is not relevant -for example: contracts, credit and debit memo requests - the system does not create any schedule lines.
Data recorded in the schedule lines includes the:
schedule line quantity
delivery date
confirmed quantity
What is the difference between an inquiry and quotation ?
Inquiry: Request made to a vendor for a quotation for required materials or services.
No availability check is done for inquiry.
Quotation: Offer from a vendor to a purchasing organization regarding the supply of materials or performance of services subject to predefined terms and conditions.
A quotation consists of a number of items, in which the total quantity and delivery date of an offered material or service are specified.
The total quantity can be subdivided into several partial quantities with different delivery dates in the lines of a delivery schedule.
Do you always have to have a material master record number when you enter an item on a sales document (inquiry and quote)? If not what would you have to use to be able to enter information at item level?
No. Customer Material Information or Material Description.
If a customer doesn't place an order with you after you have sent him a quotation, what happens to the quotation document?
Remains active till the end of validity period.
Can you have alternative items in a sales order?
Yes.
If you reference an inquiry when creating a quotation ,would the inquiry be updated?
Yes.
Can you copy one inquiry to many quotations ?
No.
Can you copy several previous documents into one sales order?
Yes.
Do you always have to copy the entire quantities at item level when you reference a previous document?
No.
Can you make sure that business data in a sales order is only possible to maintain at header level?
Yes.
From where is the delivering plant transferred into the sales order?
Customer Master, Material Master.
Which partner function is relevant for the delivering plant? The sold-to-party , bill-to-party, payer, carrier or the ship- to- party?
Ship-to party.
Can you manually change the delivering plant in the sales order once it was defaulted from the master data?
Yes.
For what or why do you use the incompletion log?
To have a complete document so that it doesn’t affect subsequent processes.
Can you have different incompletion logs for different item categories? Schedule line categories?
Yes.
If a document is incomplete can you still save the document?
Yes.
Which reference statuses can a document have at item level? Which statuses at header level?
Item level: Partial, Full.
Header level: Full.
What's the advantage of using text as a reference instead of duplicating it?
Can be modified if needed.
What three sources provide data for the creation of a sales document?
Material Master, Customer Master, Previous referenced documents.
Can you change addresses of partners manually in the sales document?
Yes.
Name several input tools that make order entry faster and give a definition of them?
Customer Material Information, Product Proposal , Referencing Documents.
In which business environment would you use only the single-line entry screen to create and save the order?
Telephone Sales, Simple Business.
If you do not specify the delivering plant in the sales order, what could the system then not do?
Delivery Scheduling.
For what would you use the fast change function in sales entry?
Alternate Plants, Delivery or Billing Blocks
Name two ways to control that customers can receive only certain materials?
Material Listing, Exclusion.
What does the item category control?
General Data
- Should pricing be carried out for the item?
- When should an item be regarded as completed? A quotation item, for example, can only be regarded as completed if the entire quantity has been copied into a sales order.
- Is it an item that refers to a material or is it a text item?
- Are schedule lines allowed for the item?
- May general business data, for example, the terms of payment at the item level, deviate from those at the header level?
- Should a system message appear if the item cannot be fully delivered?
- Which fields are relevant for the incompletion log?
- Which partner functions are allowed at the item level and which are mandatory?
- Which output (for example, an order confirmation) is allowed for the business transaction and which output determination procedure is used?
Shipping Data
- Is an item relevant for delivery?
Should the weight and the volume of an item be determined?
Billing Data
- Is an item relevant for billing?
- Should the cost of the item be determined?
- Is it a statistical item? Pricing is carried out for statistical items. However, they are not added to the value of the order, that is, the customer is not charged for them.
- Should a billing block be set automatically for an item? For example, this may be important for items whose prices have to be clarified before billing.
Is it a returns item?
Name the influencing factors for determining the item category in the sales document?
Sales Document type, Item Category Group, Higher Level Item, Item Usage.
Name the influencing factors for determining the scehdule line category in the sales document?
Item Category, MRP Type.
What does the sales document type control?
General Data
- Can the document be entered only with reference to a preceding document?
- Should the existing customer-material info record be taken into consideration?
- Should the delivery date be proposed?
- Must a customer number be entered when creating a document? For example, product proposals can be entered without reference to a particular customer.
- Which order probability is defined?
- Should the division be taken from the material master record for every item or should an alternative division specified in the header take precedence over the item specifications?
- How should the system respond if the division entered in the header deviates from the division in the items?
- Should a credit limit check be made?
- From which number range should the document number for internal or external number assignment come?
- Which fields are relevant for the incompletion log? The validity period, for example, is important for contracts and must therefore be specified in the document.
- Can an incomplete document be saved or must all data be complete?
- Which partner functions are allowed and which ones are mandatory?
Shipping Data
- Which delivery type should the delivery resulting from the order have?
- Should delivery scheduling be carried out?
- Should transportation scheduling be carried out?
- Should a delivery block be set automatically for a specific reason? For example, a delivery block may be appropriate for a free-of-charge delivery.
- You can define shipping conditions for a sales document type. These are copied into the document regardless of what is defined in the customer master record.
Billing Data
Which billing type should the invoice resulting from the order or the delivery have?
Should a billing block be set automatically for a specific reason? For example, a billing block may be appropriate if a credit memo request should first be checked before it is used as the basis for a credit memo.
Can the sales document type be determined by the system?
No.
In R/3, can you automatically substitute one product for another? How? What would you have to create?
Yes. Product Selection / Material Determination.
Give a definition of replenishment lead time?
Total time for the in-house production or for the external procurement of a product. In in-house production the replenishment lead time is determined to cover all BOM levels.
What's the difference between checking availability with or without replenishment lead time (RLT)?
With RLT : Availability check is done only upto end of RLT. If material is not available the date on which RLT ends is displayed as Material Availability Date.
Without RLT : Availability check is unrestricted. Displays Delivery Dates as on which partial deliveries can be made with available stock.
Name at least three item categories?
Standard Items : AFN, AGN, TAN.
Free of charge Items: AFNN, AGNN, TANN.
Non-stock Items : AFX, AGX, TAX.
Text Items : AFTX, AGTX, TATX.
Why would you use different item and schedule line categories?
Item categories are defined to provide additional control functions for the sales documents and thus meet the demands resulting from the different business transactions.
The items in a sales document are divided into one or more schedule lines. These schedule lines differ from each other with respect to date and quantity. For some schedule lines, material requirements planning is not carried out; for other schedule lines, it is carried out. Also goods receipt, not goods issue, is posted for a schedule line defined in a returns document.
Can you change existing standard item categories?
Yes.
Can you create new sales order types?
Yes.
Different dates will be calculated in order entry scheduling . Can you name the lead time variables that will be taken into account?
Transportation lead time, Pick/pack time, Loading time, Transit time .
If you run out of stock in a specific plant can you check if there are quantities available in other plants?
Yes.
When you carry out availability check, which quantities or movements can the system take into consideration?
The following elements can be included in the availability check:
Stocks : safety stock, stock in transfer, stock in quality inspection, blocked stock.
Inward and outward movements : purchase orders, purchase requisitions, planned orders, production orders, reservations, dependent reservations, dependent requirements, sales requirements, delivery requirements.
Give some examples of sales document types (description, not necessary the short code) that already set up in the standard system?
Indicator used to control the processing of the various sales documents which are defined in the system. E.g., OR, SO, BV, KR. Document types allow the system to process different kinds of business transactions, such as standard orders and credit memo requests, in different ways.
Can you maintain texts for a specific customer and store them in the system? If yes, where?
Yes. Customer Material Information.
When the system checks availability which scheduling would it use first?
Backward Scheduling.
Name the influencing factors for the determination of the availability date?
The following data is required for determining this date:
- Route from the shipping point to the ship-to party location
Shipping point from which the goods are issued
Loading group from the material master record
Weight group determined from the order using the order quantity.
Name the three delivery possibilities when there is not enough stock available?
One Time Delivery, Complete Delivery, Partial Deliveries.
Can you think of an example why you would have to create a text for a customer and copy it to the sales order?
Customer specific instructions.
What is the function of item category group?
The item category group determines how a material is processed in the sales order. It defines, for example, that pricing does not take place for a free of charge item, such as a business gift; or that inventory management is not carried out for a service. When processing sales and distribution documents, the system uses the item category group to determine the item category. The system determines the item category based on the item category group of the material and the current business transaction, and proposes it in the respective document.
When creating the material types non-stock material and services, DIEN is proposed in both cases for the item category group, because the order processing for both material types is identical: for example, pricing is carried out for both, but no availability check.
On sales order, when the system confirms 20 pieces to be available at a certain date, would these 20 pieces still be available for other new sales order coming in later?
No.
What is a delivery group and why would you use it?
The complete delivery and delivery group functions enable you to combine some or all of the items in a sales order so that they are delivered to the customer together. The system determines automatically the latest delivery date possible for the delivery group and adjusts the schedule lines accordingly. Corresponding requirements for material requirements planning (MRP) are changed or re-determined.
What is backorder processing?
The backorder processing functions enable you to list relevant sales documents for specific materials and process them from the point of view of availability. You can assign available to promise (ATP) stock to outstanding order quantities. In addition, you can withdraw already confirmed quantities and reassign them to different items.
Backorder processing is only available for materials with individual requirements.
Can you link items in a sales order? If yes, when would you do that?
Yes. Promotional Items.
For what would you use BOM’S in sales? What two methods of BOM processing do you have in sales order entry? How can you control if the system should/should not explode a BOM in the sales order.
A bill of material (BOM) describes the different components that together create a product. A BOM for a bicycle, for example, consists of all the parts that make up the bicycle: the frame, the saddle, wheels, and so on. When you enter the material number of a bill of materials that is relevant for sales order processing, the system displays the material that describes the whole bill of materials as a main item. The components are displayed as sub-items.
Processing by Main Item : ERLA & Processing by Sub-Item : LUMF
BOM explosion can be prevented by specifying Item Category Group as NORM.
Credit limit checks is an example of a very close link between which two SAP modules?
SD & FI.
What are the two techniques in delivery scheduling?
Backward Scheduling & Forward Scheduling.
How does a third party deal work? Do you use a special sales order type for that? How could the system know that you want to process a third party deal?
By specifying item category as TAS using double-line entry in the sales order.
No special order type is available.
By the item category group and/or material type in Material Master .
Name the several steps in consignment processing.
Consignment fill-up, Consignment issue, Consignment pick-up, Consignment return.
What’s the difference between consignment pick-up and consignment return?
In consignment pick-up, customer returns consignment stock. When goods issue is posted, the relevant quantity is deducted from the customer's special stock and is added back to regular stock at the plant where the goods are returned. Total valuated stock remains the same since the returned stock was regarded as part of inventory even while it was at the customer's premises.This transaction is not relevant for billing.
In consignment return, customer wishes to claim on consignment goods which have already been issued. When goods issue is posted, the relevant quantity is added to the customer's special stock at the plant where the goods are returned. Since the ownership of the goods is passed from the customer back to the company, the transaction is relevant for billing. In this case, the customer receives a credit memo for the returned goods.
Can you control that an end user cannot copy a quote of customer A to a sales order for customer B? If yes, where?
Yes. By customizing Copying Control for header data.
Give some example for data that is copied from the customer (sold-to, payer, ship-to) to the sales order as well as for data that is copied from the material?
General data, payment terms, shipping details, delivery agreements, delivering plant.
What is returnable packaging processing?
Returnable packaging consists of materials that are stored at the customer location but which remain the property of the company. The customer is only required to pay for the returnable packaging if he does not return it by a specified time.
Name the two outline agreements in R/3 standard and explain the difference between them.
Agreements are arrangements between business partners regarding the granting of conditions over a specified time period. The agreement contains conditions which apply over a particular time period and which are settled together at the same points in time. An agreement can be settled once or periodically. The two outline agreements include Contracts and Scheduling Agreements.
Unlike a contract - which only contains an overall target quantity or value - a scheduling agreement also contains specific order quantities and delivery dates.
How many documents do you create when you release, deliver and invoice the first order from a contract?
Three : Sales order, Delivery note, Invoice.
What types of output can you have in sales?
Printer, Telex, Fax, Mail, EDI.
Can you automate output processing ? Do you always have to specify it manually?
yes. No.
Where would you specify which data should be copied (at header, item and schedule line level)when you copy from one document to another one?
Customizing Copy Control.
SHIPPING
Describe the flow of data from the sales order into the delivery for header and item and schedule line level data?
Header à Header
Item à Header, Item.
Schedule line à Item.
Can you combine several sales orders into one delivery document ? If no, why not? If yes, would the system check certain criteria? What criteria?
No. When ship-to party or plant is different.
Yes. Availability of all items are confirmed.
Name a few prerequisites that have to be fulfilled if you want to create a delivery for the order.
Header Level
There cannot be a delivery block at header level.
The sales document must contain at least one item due for delivery before a delivery can be created for this document.
Item Level and Schedule Line Level
The schedule line must be due for shipping on the specified selection date.
A schedule line becomes due for shipping as soon as the material availability date or the transportation scheduling date is reached.
The schedule line cannot be blocked for delivery.
The delivery quantity must be greater than one.
The items in the order must be fully processed.
If they are incomplete, you must first edit the incompleteness log in the order. You will find information on the incompleteness log in the R/3 SD online documentation on sales.
The product status of the material must permit delivery.
For example, the product status for new products which have not been released for delivery does not allow them to be included in a delivery.
Sufficient quantity of the material must be available.
If you create a delivery, would this automatically update the sales order?
Yes. The delivery status of the entire order results from the delivery status of the items. Until all items in the order have been fully delivered, the order has the status "Partially delivered". The entire document acquires the status of fully delivered once all the items have been fully delivered.
Name the different ways of creating deliveries.
Partial Deliveries, Complete Deliveries, Deliveries without reference, Grouped Deliveries.
How does the system determine the shipping point and the route in the sales order?
A shipping point can be determined for each order item. How the shipping point is determined depends on three factors:
The shipping conditions from the customer master record (Shipping screen). A condition might be that the goods are to be delivered to the customer as soon as possible.
The loading group from the material master record (Sales/Plant Data screen).You could, for example, specify a loading group that defines that the goods must always be loaded with a crane or a fork lift.
The delivering plant. This plant is determined per order item either from the customer master record or from the material master record. However, you can also enter it manually for each order item. You will find detailed information on determining the delivering plant in the sales order in the R/3 SD online documentation on sales.
Can you change the shipping point determined in the sales order manually?
Yes.
If you have several shipping points in a sales order at item level. What would that have on the delivery?
Each item will individual deliveries.
Why would you carry out route determination in the delivery again?
To reconfirm the weight of the item.
At which different levels can you specify pick/pack and loading time?
Shipping point determination level : loading time.
Route determination level : pick/pack time.
Where do you specify the departure zone and the arrival zone for route determination?
Shipping point, Ship-to party.
How can the route influence the material availability date?
Transit time & Transportation lead time.
Why would you carry out availability check in the delivery?
The availability check is calculated using planned inward and outward movements of goods. Therefore the delivery situation might have changed in the meantime due to unforeseen circumstances, such as lost output. The availability check in the delivery takes any such changes into account.
Where would you store partial/complete shipment agreements and over/under delivery tolerances?
Customer Master and Customer Material Information.
Explain the effects of printing out the picking list.
Updates the picking quantity in the delivery.
How does the system automatically determine the picking storage location in the delivery?
Storage Condition.
Shipping Point.
Plant.
What is a transfer order and for what would you use it?
Document used to support every stock movement in the warehouse.
It contains all the important movement data, such as the material to be transferred, the quantity to be transferred, the storage bins involved, and so on
Define a shipping unit?
Combination of materials which are packed together in a shipping material at a particular time. Shipping units contain items which in turn are made up of shipping units or delivery items.
What effects does goods issue have?
When the goods have left your plant, the business transaction is regarded as completed from the point of view of shipping. When goods are issued, the following functions take place in the system:
The material stock is reduced by the goods issue quantity and the corresponding value changes take place in accounting. This ensures that the quantity and value flows are parallel.
Material requirements for the delivery are reduced
The delivery status is updated
If you bill after goods issue, the delivery enters the billing work list
How can you delete a good issue?
You cannot cancel a goods issue posting in isolation. You are also unable to change goods issue quantities. If you make a mistake when processing a delivery, or if the goods are damaged leaving your plant and cannot be delivered, you must cancel the entire business transaction.
Procedure
After you have invoiced the delivery, for which the incorrect goods issue posting was carried out, proceed as follows:
1. Enter a returns order (order type RE) for the customer and the material involved.
2. Create a returns delivery for the returns order. The system proposes the delivery type. The delivery quantities in the returns delivery must correspond to the goods issue quantities in the incorrect goods issue document.
3. Post "goods issue" for the returns delivery. The system automatically recognizes the returns delivery as goods receipt and clears the original goods issue posting by carrying out reverse posting.
4. Invoice the business transaction with a returns credit memo. The system proposes billing type. The original billing document for the incorrect goods issue document is cleared by this credit memo.
Is it possible to work without specifying a pick/pack or loading time for a shipping point?
Yes.
When do you initiate packing activity-before or after goods issue? What is the material type for shipping material?
Before goods issue . VERP.
When you post goods issue after packing, which two documents do you create?
Picking List, Invoice.
Can the delivery quantity and the picking quantity in the delivery document be -different?
Yes.
PRICING
Could you explain what condition technique in SAP is?
Hierarchy of elements defining a data combination which leads to certain actions.
In pricing the condition technique refers to the method by which the system determines prices from information stored in condition records. In Sales and Distribution, the various elements used in the condition technique are set up and controlled in Customizing. During sales order processing, the system uses the condition technique to determine a variety of important pricing information.
Name three areas/processes which use condition technique in SD?
Material determination, Output determination, Account determination.
What are the four basic elements of condition technique?
Condition Types, Condition Tables, Access Sequences, Pricing Procedures.
Please explain graphically the relationship between the four basic elements in condition techniques?
Procedures à Condition Types à Access Sequence à Condition Tables à Condition Records.
Explain what a pricing procedure is?
The primary job of a pricing procedure is to define a group of condition types in a particular sequence. The pricing procedure also determines:
- Which sub-totals appear during pricing
- To what extent pricing can be influenced manually
- Which method the system uses to calculate percentage discounts and surcharges
- which requirements for a particular condition type must be fulfilled before the system takes the condition into account.
Explain what a condition table and an access sequence is and the relationship between them?
A condition table defines the combination of fields (the key) that identifies an individual condition record. A condition record is how the system stores the specific condition data that you enter in the system as condition records. For example, when you enter the price for a product or a special discount for a good customer, you create individual condition records.
An access sequence is a search strategy that the system uses to find valid data for a particular condition type. It determines the sequence in which the system searches for data. The access sequence consists of one or more accesses. The sequence of the accesses establishes which condition records have priority over others. The accesses tell the system where to look first, second, and so on, until it finds a valid condition record. You specify an access sequence for each condition type for which you create condition records.
What is a condition type? What are the two main groups of condition types?
A condition type is a representation in the system of some aspect of your daily pricing activities. For example, you can define a different condition type for each kind of price, discount, or surcharge that occurs in your business transactions.
Fixed Amount & Percentage.
Is SD the only module that uses condition technique?
No.
What is a condition supplement and why would you use it?
A condition supplement is a supplement for a particular condition type. For example, you can include a supplement every time you apply a material price. The supplement can contain various discounts. During pricing, the system automatically applies the discounts defined in the supplement every time it accesses a material price. You define for which condition types you want to use condition supplements in Customizing for Sales.
Which partner function is relevant when it comes to tax calculation in the sales order?
Ship-to party.
Name at least three different condition types in pricing?
Price, Discounts, Freight. PROO, K007, KF00.
You can create scales for prices and discounts. Name the four possible scale basis in R/3.
Value, Quantity, Gross weight, Net weight, Volume.
Where would you specify that a condition type is a discount or a surcharge?
In Condition Type Details Screen.
If somebody adds price elements manually in the sales order or if somebody changes a discount the system determined automatically, do you have a possibility to see that in the sales order?
Yes.
You want to list all condition records for a certain material or a certain sales organization. How would you do that?
By creating Pricing Reports.
Does the pricing procedure apply for the pricing data at item level or for the pricing data at header level?
Both.
When you create a header condition manually in the sales order the system can copy the values in different ways to the items. Where would you specify how the system should process?
Condition Type.
Which data do you have to maintain in SD so that the system can determine the sales taxes in the sales order automatically?
Tax rate with or without Jurisdiction.
What does the condition exclusion indicator do for you?
The system can exclude conditions so that they are not taken into account during pricing in sales documents.
Can you explain what a statistical condition is? Give an example for a statistical condition?
VPRS.
For what do you use customer hierarchies?
Pricing , Rebate.
Can you track cumulative values in R/3? If yes, it could be based on what?
Yes. Maximum Value, Maximum Orders, Maximum Quantity.
If you want to make sure that conditions records apply for a certain time period only what would you have to do?
Validity Period to be specified in condition record.
What is a group condition?
Condition which can be used to determine a scale value based on more than one item in a document. The system groups the items using either the condition key for the appropriate condition record or a separately defined condition key.
Name the influencing factors for pricing procedure determination during sales order entry?
Customer, Sales Document Type and Sales Area.
Can you copy condition records? If yes, are there any restrictions?
Yes. Field specific.
If you create a new condition type-do you also have to create a new condition table and a new access sequence?
Yes.
Where can you specify that a condition is mandatory?
In Pricing Procedure.
Tax jurisdiction processing is a close link between which two modules?
FI & SD.
Do you have to create a condition record for taxes in the SD application?
Yes.
BILLING
Name several billing types?
F1 : Order related Invoice F2 : Delivery related invoice.
F5 : Proforma Invoice for Sales Order F8 : Proforma Invoice for Delivery.
Can you delete an invoice?
No. You can cancel it and create cancellation document.
When you create an invoice in SD, how do you post it to FI?
Select Billing document à Release To Accounting.
The system displays a message that the accounting document has been saved. If the billing document contains an error, the reason for not forwarding the document is displayed. If the release was successful, the posting status in the billing document is set to C (accounting document has been created). You find the posting status by selecting Header à Details in the billing document.
When you create an invoice can you carry out pricing again?
Yes.
From which documents can you create a proforma invoice?
Based on sales order or delivery.
Do you transfer a proforma invoice to FI ? If yes, how? If no, how do you customize the system in a way that the proforma invoice is not transferred to FI?
No. Billing status not assigned to proforma invoice. Posting bock in the billing document.
When you create a credit memo request do you always have to refer to a sales order or any other previous document?
Only sales order.
In R/3 how can you make sure that invoices for a customer are always created at a specific date?
Billing Schedule.
Can you combine deliveries into one invoice? When would you do that?
Yes. If the header data and header partners for specified delivery or sales order are identical and if requirements for splitting do not apply.
Can you combine orders into one invoice?
Yes.
Can you split deliveries into several invoices? When would you do that?
Yes . If the data from the related reference documents differs in the header fields of the billing document. The system will automatically split the invoice.
For what do you use the billing due list? What previous step in the process is necessary that a delivery appears in the billing due list?
Selection criteria – sold-to party, billing date or receiving partner.
a) separate invoice for each delivery
b) split one sales order for delivery into several invoices.
c) combine several sales orders for delivery into one invoice.
Name the five possible influencing factors for account determination for invoices?
Chart of accounts of the company code
Sales organization
Account assignment group of the customer (from the customer master record, Billing screen, Account group field)
Account assignment group of the material (from the material master record, Sales 2 screen, Account assignment group field)
Account key (from the pricing procedure)
Can one business area be valid for several company codes?
Yes.
What are the two possible ways to transfer sales data to business areas? Where do you specify which way you want to use?
sales area (if the accounts are to be posted according to sales)
plant/division (if the accounts are to be posted according to products)
There is an interface between SD and FI in invoicing . can you think of another interface between SD and FI?
Credit check, Tax calculation, Cost estimate.
What is rebate processing?
A rebate is a special discount which is paid retroactively to a customer. This discount is based on the customer's sales volume over a specified time period
What is an invoice list? Which prerequisite are necessary to use an invoice list? How does an invoice list differ from a collective invoice?
Invoice lists let you create, at specified time intervals or on specific dates, a list of billing documents (invoices, credit and debit memos) to send to a particular payer.
The billing documents in the invoice list can be single or collective documents (collective invoices combine items from more than one delivery).
The standard version of the SAP R/3 System includes two types of invoice lists:
- for invoices and debit memos
- for credit memos
If you wish, you can process invoices, debit memos, and credit memos at the same time. The system automatically creates a separate invoice list for credit memos.
Prerequisites for Invoice Lists
You can process invoice lists providing that the following prerequisite data is defined by your system administrator in Customizing for Sales:
- Condition type RL00 (factoring discount) must be maintained and, if required, condition type MW15 (VAT: factoring discount tax)
- An invoice list type must be assigned to each billing type that you want to process in invoice lists - the standard version of the SAP R/3 System includes two invoice list types: LR for invoices and debit memos, LG for credit memos
- Copying requirements must be defined (for example, the payer, terms of payment, and other fields that must be identical in the documents to be included in the invoice list)
In addition, before you process an invoice list, you must maintain the following master data:
- A customer calendar must be defined, specifying the time intervals or dates on which invoice lists are to be processed
- The customer calendar must be entered in the Billing view of the customer master record of the payer (field: Inv. list sched.)
- Pricing condition records for the condition type RL00 and, if necessary, MW15
Output condition records for condition types LR00 (invoice list) and RD01 (single invoice)
Collective Invoice
If the header data and the header partners for the specified deliveries or sales orders are identical and if the requirements for splitting do not apply, one billing document is created for all the deliveries or sales orders.
What is a product hierarchy and for what can it be used?
Alphanumeric character string for grouping materials by combining various characteristics. The product hierarchy is used for evaluation and pricing purposes.
In Product Cost Controlling (CO-PC) : Structure consisting of the plant, product group, product, and order. Used for the interactive analysis of the product costs for each level of the hierarchy.
Can you name the two types of billing plans in the standard R/3 system?
Periodic billing, Milestone billing.
Can you partially settle rebate accruals?
Yes.
For what would you use a lump sum payment?
A lump sum payment is a special condition which does not depend on sales volume but on a promotional performance such as a front of store display or a local advertisement.
CUSTOMISING
Explain what the IMG is?
Tool for configuring the SAP System to meet customer requirements. Also referred to as the 'Implementation Guide'.
Explain how you can use the R/3 project Management in an implementation?
For each business application, the implementation guide
explains all the steps in the implementation process
tells you the SAP standard (factory) settings
describes system configuration work (activities) and opens the activities interactively.
Implementation guides are structured as hypertext. The hierarchical structure reflects the structure of the R/3 business application components, and lists all the documentation to do with implementing the R/3 System.
Once you have activated the company IMG can you still add modules/areas?
Yes.
If you deactivate the module CO in the company IMG could you still select the CO module in a project you create?
No.
Is it possible to link R/3 projects to the MS project?
Yes.
What is the procedure model and how can it be used in an implementation?
The R/3 Procedure Model is both the methodological framework for the implementation and upgrade processes and a powerful tool that supports you at every stage of the implementation process.
The R/3 Procedure Model provides
all the fundamental understanding you need at the cross-application level for implementing R/3 application components successfully,
a hierarchically-structured plan of the activities,
a correct sequence of the activities
the link to the system setting activities
Explain shortly what the SAP business Navigator is and how it can be used in an implementation.
The Reference Model integrated into the R/3 System
The various ways into Business Navigator (the views) help you call just the models and list displays you need in the R/3 Reference Model
You can access other R/3 System components directly from the models,
for example: data models, transactions, documentation.
What two ways of number assignment for documents or master data do you know? Explain the difference between them.
Internal & External.
Can you share master data between several sales areas?
Yes.
What does the account group of the customer control?
Number assignment, Screen Layout.
What are the two influence factors for field selection for customer master record maintenance?
Account Group, Transactions.
Name at least five features that you can control for the sale document type?
Text, Partner, Pricing, Taxes, Output, Delivery.
Give an example of when you would specify that a sales document can only be created referencing another sales document?
Returns can only be created referencing sales order.
Why do you have different sales document types in R/3?
For business transactions.
Name at least three features controlled by the sales document type?
Pricing, Taxes , Delivery.
Name at least five features that you can control for the item category?
Pricing, Relevance for delivery, Relevance for billing, Incompletion log, Partner, Tax.
Name at least five features that you can control for the schedule line category?
Relevance for delivery, Availability check, Transfer of Requirements, Goods Movement, Purchasing and Incompletion log.
Explain how the system can automatically determine the item category in the sales order.
Sales document type + Higher level Item category + Item category group + Item Usage.
Explain how the system can automatically determine the schedule line category in the sales order?
Item category + MRP type.
Once the system determined the item level schedule line category automatically in the sales order, can you still change it manually?
Yes.
At which levels in the sales document can you have different incompletion procedures?
Sales Document Type, Item Category, Schedule Line Category, Partner Functions, Sales Activities.
What is the item category group? Where do you maintain it?
The item category group determines how a material is processed in the sales order. It defines, for example, that pricing does not take place for a free of charge item, such as a business gift; or that inventory management is not carried out for a service. When processing sales and distribution documents, the system uses the item category group to determine the item category. The system determines the item category based on the item category group of the material and the current business transaction, and proposes it in the respective document.
When creating the material types non-stock material and services, DIEN is proposed in both cases for the item category group, because the order processing for both material types is identical: for example, pricing is carried out for both, but no availability check.
It is maintained in the material master.
What do you control at item category level in the delivery?
Relevance for Picking, Determination of Picking Location, Minimum Delivery Quantity.
Do you have schedule lines in the delivery?
No.
Item categories from the sales order are copied into the delivery. What happens if you add a new item in the delivery – how can the system still automatically determine the item category for the delivery? If, yes, what do you have to do?
You can only enter an item that is not dependent on an order in a delivery if the delivery permits the item category for that item. The item category is determined on the basis of the delivery type and item category group in the material master record. Thus, items for which an order has to be created first cannot be added to a delivery. Which materials can be included in a delivery, depend on your system configuration. In the standard version of the SAP R/3 System, only materials with the item category VERP can be added to a delivery.
What does the billing type control?
The document number
The partner functions allowed at header level
The partner functions allowed at item level
The billing type that can be used to cancel the billing document
The transfer status of the billing document:
Transferred to financial accounting
blocked from transfer
not transferred
The procedure for account assignment in Financial Accounting
The allowed output for a business transaction and the procedure for output.
When you think of the document flow – what do you control for it in customizing?
You can specify for a particular sales document type, which document type is to be assigned to copied reference documents, and which item categories or schedule line categories are to be copied.
You must also make specifications for copying requirements and data transfer, as well as quantity and value updates in document flow. This must be done for each copying procedure at header, item and, if necessary, schedule line level on a detail screen.
You can specify partner procedures for the customer master (linked to the account group) and you can specify partner procedures for the sales document. Can you have different partner procedure at sales document type and item category level? If yes, why would you want to have different procedures for the item category?
Yes. Different Ship-to party.
What is a partner type? Give some example?
The partner type is an indicator which informs you of the type of partner, for example, partner type customer "KU".
You want to set up a new condition type. Name the necessary steps you have to do If you want the system to determine the new condition type automatically during sales order entry?
Check to what extent you can use the condition types contained in the standard SAP R/3 System.
Create new condition types by copying a similar conditions type and changing it according to your requirements. One reason for creating a new condition type is you may require a calculation rule for a discount which is not available in the standard system.
Specify an alphanumeric key which can have up to 4 digits, and a textual description.
Specify an access sequence for the condition types. You do not need to specify an access sequence for header conditions.
- Maintain the detail screen of the condition type.
You can also assign a reference condition type if the condition types you are working with are similar. Then you will only have to maintain condition records for the reference condition type.
In addition, you can define the upper and lower limits for the value of a condition at condition type level. This way, you limit the amounts or the scale values in the corresponding condition records.
When you think of the five possible elements necessary for the account determining during posting of a sales invoice – where from does the system get the information?
Chart of Accounts, Sales Organization, Payer, Material Master, Account Key.
Name the necessary steps to setup a route?
Define the transportation connection points which mark the beginning and end of a leg
Define the leg by specifying the transportation connection points at the beginning and end
Define the modes of transport and shipping types which are dependent upon the mode of transport.
Define the routes by listing the individual legs one after another. The sequence of legs constituting the route determines the itinerary. When you string together the individual legs of the route, you must also specify the shipping type for each leg.
As a simple alternative you can also define routes without specifying them more precisely by defining legs. Note that in this case the system cannot propose the office of exit for export.
During route determination the system also needs to know the departure Zone of the goods to be shipped. How does this information come into the sales order?
Customer Master.
What is the scope of check during availability check and what do you specify with it?
Stocks
Safety stock, stock in transfer, stock in quality inspection, blocked stock.
Inward and outward movements
purchase orders, purchase requisitions, planned orders, production orders, reservations, dependent reservations, dependent requirements, sales requirements, delivery requirements.
Where do you assign text determination procedures for customer master records and for documents?
Account Group, Item Category.
Can you make texts mandatory for a customer master or a sales document?
Yes.
Give examples for standard output types in SD.
Order Confirmation, Delivery Note , Invoice.
Can you specify when output should be created? If yes, what possibilities do you have?
Yes. Print out, Mail, EDI, Fax.
What does the material type control ?
The material type determines a material's procurement type. It also controls
- screen sequence
- field selection
- number assignment type in material master maintenance
- inventory management type
account determination
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